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I wallowed in misery the whole rest of the day, sent upstairs, downstairs, and all around the town. He left before me and on his way past my desk, he dropped the elephant on the floor in front of it.
“I think my friend has a different standard of a gift than this,” he said. “But since you like it so much, please take it home with you.”
I was too exhausted at that point to be angry any more, but when the man at the stand wouldn’t let me return it and I was out the fifty dollars without even the satisfaction of ruining Eli’s date, I simmered the whole way home. Getting dirty looks on the subway when I crowded that stupid toy on with me didn’t help, but my feet hurt too much to walk and a cab was out after my expensive attempt at payback.
But was it really payback if Eli wasn’t truly messing with me? Was it my bruised feelings that kept making me think he remembered me when he didn’t? It was clear by all his glances that he was very much still attracted to me. I didn’t mind those glances one bit and was already planning my next day’s outfit, albeit with more comfortable shoes. I stuffed the elephant in a corner and glared at it, the plastic heart charm taunting me.
“Don’t ever forget you’re mine, huh?” I said, sending a side kick into its fat, fluffy belly. Then I leaned over and punched its curling trunk. “Can’t even remember my face, you jerk.”
Beating the poor plushie made me feel a little better, and I went to bed, eager to start my own torture campaign.
I set my alarm early and got to his supposed favorite coffee shop to get his coffee, shrugging at the odd look from the barista.
“That much whipped cream?” she asked.
“My boss has a sweet tooth,” I said.
I remembered the croissants at the last minute, adding in some muffins for the writers and myself, and met with Jed as I made my way toward the elevator. He took the bakery box from me and nodded toward the chocolate shavings melting into the whipped cream on Eli’s drink.
“Careful of the rush you’re going to get from that thing,” he said teasingly. “You know we have a cafeteria? You don’t have to go so far away.”
I nodded sadly. “Yes, but Eli wants this particular coffee from the Roastery.”
His face screwed up and he shook his head. “Since when? I’ve never seen him drink anything other than black coffee. Andrea accidentally put a sugar packet in his once and he nearly spat it out.”
Interesting. Enlightening. And enraging. I tried to keep things light the rest of the way up with Jed, then headed straight to Eli’s office.
“Good morning,” I said sunnily, leaning over to place the coffee and croissant on his side of the desk.
His eyes were bleary and a little bloodshot. He visibly grimaced at the sight of my offering, then he glanced at his watch. “You’re in early.”
“Yes, I wanted to make sure to get you your coffee before any meetings. I’m really sorry about yesterday.” My voice was more syrupy than his drink. He nodded and turned back to his computer. “I hope it’s the way you like it,” I said. “Do you want to give it a quick taste? I want to make sure it’s right this time since you didn’t finish the one from yesterday.”
He didn’t even take a sip of it. Someone who gagged at a teaspoon of sugar in his coffee would probably die from the thing in front of him.
His eyes met mine and narrowed, but I kept up my innocent facade. I just wanted to do my best for my new boss, that was all. I kept staring at him raptly until he raised the cup to his mouth and took a sip. He shuddered and put it down, a trace of whipped cream clinging to his lips. I had the sudden urge to lean across his desk again and lick it off.
“It’s perfect,” he said, looking like he wanted to gargle the taste out of his mouth. “You’re doing a great job.”
I practically bobbed a curtsy as I hurried toward the door. “Thank you. I’ll have the coffee for you every morning, first thing. Don’t worry.” It was clear how miserable this promise made him, and I thought he’d cave and tell me not to bother. Maybe admit his wrongdoings. Or maybe his tastes just changed, or Jed was mistaken.
He only looked at me narrowly for a second before nodding. “That’ll be great. Keep up the initiative.”
Damn it. Now I’d have to leave my apartment a half hour early and go out of my way for the rest of eternity. Or as long as I could manage to keep this job with him being so insufferable. Point to Eli on that one. I sat down at my desk, which was now on the other side of the room, away from the windows. Was this part of the mental torture? Would it be somewhere new again tomorrow? At least my screen was out of the sun. It didn’t exactly put me in a better mood.
Chapter 7 - Eli
It was week two of having to choke down those diabetes inducing milkshakes every morning. I couldn’t believe Violet got one over on me that way, but there was no way she knew how much I truly hated the disgusting concoctions, and it did my black heart good knowing she had to go out of her way every day. To keep her from being too much of a distraction in her body-hugging skirts and low-cut tops, I was keeping up with alternately going out every other night and seeing what the city had to offer, or calling up Pamela, my naughty sexter who’d been doing her best to get back in my good graces. She knew how to have fun and didn’t kick up a fuss when I showed up to her birthday dinner without a gift, so I thought maybe she’d calmed down a bit, or at least managed her expectations. I continued to make it clear we were going nowhere except my bedroom.
Despite not sleeping alone, I still couldn’t stop thinking about Violet. Comparing the other women to her, the others always coming up short. Violet was no pushover, despite me whittling away at her will to live the last two weeks. She always rebounded, and a few times, like with the coffee, she even seemed to get the better of me. I liked that she didn’t utterly crumble, especially since she was turning out to be an excellent assistant. I hadn’t been able to sneak in a surprise meeting on her the whole week, and finally gave up since it took so much effort. I did have actual work to do, even though teasing Violet had turned into a very enjoyable hobby. I was beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t call off my revenge plan. Maybe start fresh.
If I admitted I didn’t forget her, would we laugh about it? What if she leaned across my desk in that maddening way that I wouldn’t have her stop doing for the world, and instead of just putting a report down, she ran her fingers through my hair, leaned closer. What would her lips feel like, how would she taste when I parted them with my tongue? What sounds would she make when I reached for her?
“Good morning, Eli,” she sang.
I jumped in my chair, cursing myself for having a fantasy about her. I was as hard as a rock and I pulled myself closer to the desk in case she took a peek down there when she leaned across to deliver my morning swill.
“Morning,” I said. It came out more gruff than I meant, due to my frustration.
